Sox running into brick wall vs. Orioles, Tigers, Royals

August 28, 2012|By Mark Gonzales | Tribune reporter

BALTIMORE -- Chris Sale perfectly described the dramatic change in his fortunes Tuesday night after striking out four consecutive batters.

“It’s almost like I hit a brick wall," Sale said of the transformation that led to his four-inning start and a 6-0 loss to the Orioles. "It was like the first couple innings I was down and in, throwing a lot of strikes and filling up the (strike) zone, and it just got away.

“I felt good. I even had an extra day of rest. Just was bad."

After striking out Mark Reynolds for the second out of the second inning, Sale allowed a single and two walks to the bottom of the order before Nick Markakis hit a bases-clearing double. Sale went on to allow three more hits, topped by Lew Ford's second home run in as many games.

Sale's rare early knockout is nearly as stunning as the Sox's failures against three teams that could cost them the American League Central title if they don't change their fortunes soon.

Mark Liptak of White Sox Interactive pointed out the Sox are 9-20 against the Orioles, Tigers and Royals.

The Sox have two games left against the Orioles, who improved to 5-1 against them. The Sox have seven games remaining against Detroit, which has a 7-4 mark against them.

But the Sox's most annoying blemish has been their 4-8 mark against Kansas City with six games left.

Unless the Sox can change their fortunes against these teams, their looking at a scenario reminiscent of their late slides in 2009 and 2010.